Jesus replied: ‘Whoever drinks this water will get thirsty again; but anyone who drinks the water that I shall give will never be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will turn into a spring inside him, welling up to eternal life.’ John 4:5-42
“Forgive me, Father, For I Have Sinned”, I looked up at the Priest as I made my over 100th confession. Nothing good comes easy. You must act. Get up and search for it. You will be lucky to have someone pushing you to go for confession, yet penance is one such sacrament essential for your soul. In this Lent season, you have more reasons to examine your conscience and come clean with yourself.
That is what looking for living water is all about.
Reach out. Be humble and do good. You know weak people cannot easily confess.
Reach out. Be humble and do good. You know weak people cannot easily confess.
Now and then I reflect on life and whenever I look back, I see a series of deliberate decisions that I took and acted upon that changed my life. Whether it is a challenge or an opportunity, you must decide on how to respond and then act deliberately.
Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) exams for senior four leavers usually started with practical tests – Biology, Physics, and Chemistry – where we would go to the Laboratory, conduct some experiments and use the results to answer the exam people. You were tested on the chemical reaction when a liquid was mixed with a certain chemical, or how far a pendulum swung to create a certain momentum. These were tough exams for our small brains in a school that did not have a lab or science teachers worth the title in the first place.
After having made to cram the ‘experiments’, we waited for the exam with much anxiety. I woke up early. Fetched water. Cleaned the house and made breakfast – my usual routine had to be accomplished. Such was the strict upbringing I had with Mom. I am usually so surprised by how much she changed these days. In those days, she was very strict on us!
I arrived at school by 7:00 am sharp very expectant. Our Munteme Parish Priest always told us “When you wake up early, work 365 days a year, doing the right things to your best, you succeed.” Every time we showed weakness like being tired, he often reminded us. At Munteme Fatima College, a Parish founded the school, which had a Priest as the Head Teacher, we were required to work hard. School farms needed our young body muscles and we always exercised from there a lot by digging. Most of the time it was fun. And heck, it helped us to develop muscle memory for the tough times ahead.
At about 8:00 am, the invigilators from the Hoima District Education office arrived, and by 9:00 am we were all ready to write our first practical exam. Unfortunately, about eight of us in a class of 30 had not completed our school fees. The School Bursar entered and read our names: stand up and go get the school fees. No exams without clearance.
I ran first to Mom. “They have started the exam. I am not allowed to write it without clearing the balance on the school fees.” Being a Christian, she headed straight to the Parish Priest, the overall school top honcho then, as I looked for my elder brother. By the time, she caught up with the Priest, the exam was ending. I had missed my first practice. The following day, the Priest asked the Bursar never to take such drastic decisions without his approval. He ordered the school to withhold results but never stop candidates from writing exams. In those days, Uneb only released results through the School, and it worked for all concerned, unlike today where students can get results from anywhere via the cloud.
I learned my lessons: ask. Fight. Act. Do not ignore any challenge for there is always a way out.
You must go to penance. You must pick up the Bible and read. You must ask for help. You must search for meaning. You must ask. Look. And when you do so in the right places, you will find great things. May God give you the confidence to search for solutions.
I wish you a great Sunday which also doubles as Women’s Day and a happy Lent season. You have an opportunity to make the women in your life happy. Follow @mustaphamugisa for weekly book challenges. For a limited time, I am offering Ugx. 1,200,000 per person worth of mentorship for personal growth, FREE of charge, enrol here www.mentor.mustaphamugisa.com.
I will take on the first 10 mentees. Failure is always caused by a lack of action. You lose nothing to try. If you love your relative, share this link. Bernabas Mustapha Mugisa is Mr. Strategy, the architect of #Mindspark.
